After three quiet years, Lykke Li is back with her upcoming album I Never Learn, out May 5. So far, Li has released one sorrow-laced teaser track “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of Stone” and one single “No Rest For The Wicked.” In a press release about the forthcoming LP, she explained: “Every song on the album is a power ballad. It’s like one of those old radio stations; a slow burner.” And judging from the latest offerings, she’s right.
Li typically infuses her songs with a certain kind of sadness — not a lethargic melancholy feel but one that’s charged with a subtle electric current. They’re sad songs but the sort of sad that’s makes you feel invigorated or, at the very least, alive.
“No Rest For The Wicked” is reminiscent of all that, as it greets with light piano and Li’s lonely, echoing vocal before a burst of drums and a thundering chorus. It’s filled with lyrics that read like secret diary entries, like “I let my good one down. I let my true love die. I had his heart but I broke it every time.” It’s said that breaking someone else’s heart is just as painful as having your own ripped out of your chest. But Li exemplifies a silver lining: the music inspired by both fates is always so damn good. Listen below.
